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What MacBook Pro with Retina to buy?

T

Tonzay

macrumors newbie
Original poster
ok so I am planning to buy a new rMBP for the first time;I am from the UK and I will be starting very important work called A levels (if you're from the US, its like high school to get into university, I have been using Windows for a very long time, and I find that Windows doesn't have rich approachable educational apps, so this is my reason to change to Mac OS X :apple:.
I have looked all over the Internet for which processor is better (comparing performance and battery life); but I am still confused whether to get a i5 or an i7. and the final thing, is the default 128GB SSD enough for everyday average use?
this is also my first thread.
 
Tonzay said:
ok so I am planning to buy a new rMBP for the first time;I am from the UK and I will be starting very important work called A levels (if you're from the US, its like high school to get into university, I have been using Windows for a very long time, and I find that Windows doesn't have rich approachable educational apps, so this is my reason to change to Mac OS X :apple:.
I have looked all over the Internet for which processor is better (comparing performance and battery life); but I am still confused whether to get a i5 or an i7. and the final thing, is the default 128GB SSD enough for everyday average use?
this is also my first thread.
Click to expand...

What subjects will you be taking at A level?
 
I had a cMBP 2.26ghz Core 2 Duo with 8GB's of RAM throughout my A Levels, and it saw me through studying Film & Media. This involved creating short films using the computer and FCPX, all of which it did adequately. I also cut a 40 minute documentary on the machine, however the majority of the work done on the cMBP was in SD.

I recently bought a rMBP because of advances in the quality (HD, 4K) etc, of the work I'm creating. I'm off to uni this year, which is also one of the main reasons I bought a new machine.

If you're doing HD video cutting, or compositing in After Effects, say for your Media A Level, I'd get a 15" MBP, base configuration, with 16GB ram. The 15" is far better value for money than the 13" Retina. 128GB is not enough if you plan on installing large Applications such as Final Cut Pro X and Adobe's Creative Suite. If you're not going to be doing heavy duty tasks, get a cMBP.
 
natd1993 said:
I had a cMBP 2.26ghz Core 2 Duo with 8GB's of RAM throughout my A Levels, and it saw me through studying Film & Media. This involved creating short films using the computer and FCPX, all of which it did adequately. I also cut a 40 minute documentary on the machine, however the majority of the work done on the cMBP was in SD.

I recently bought a rMBP because of advances in the quality (HD, 4K) etc, of the work I'm creating. I'm off to uni this year, which is also one of the main reasons I bought a new machine.

If you're doing HD video cutting, or compositing in After Effects, say for your Media A Level, I'd get a 15" MBP, base configuration, with 16GB ram. The 15" is far better value for money than the 13" Retina. 128GB is not enough if you plan on installing large Applications such as Final Cut Pro X and Adobe's Creative Suite. If you're not going to be doing heavy duty tasks, get a cMBP.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your advice! Does the battery life last a reasonable amount of time during the work and processing? I know apple says 7 hours, but in reality is it really true?

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I'll mainly be doing mid-graphic intensive apps, I'll be mainly using things like Xcode, aperture, some science apps, safari, just 1 or 2 games to pass the time for some occasions. I'll also be using it for my everyday personal computer.

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Jack352 said:
What subjects will you be taking at A level?
Click to expand...

Read my replied above! I think that will give an idea of the sort of thing I will be using it for.
 
Tonzay said:
Thank you for your advice! Does the battery life last a reasonable amount of time during the work and processing? I know apple says 7 hours, but in reality is it really true?
Click to expand...

No problem,

The cMBP USED to last 7 hours, but the battery has been used so much that now it's classed as pretty much dead, (I've had it for three and a half years, and used it every day). However it lasted 7 hours when I was doing light stuff, like web surfing and Pages work.

This is much the same story of the Retina, it lasts roughly 7 hours when web surfing etc, but when editing in FCPX for example, the battery won't last for more than 2.5 hours max. If you're looking for all day battery life, the new MacBook Air is a great option as this is advertised to get between 9-12 hours, depending on the model you choose. However, all machines won't last long if you're doing tasks that take a lot of CPU and memory, like editing programmes. Just keep you're charger handy!

EDIT: Looking at your newly edited post above, using the apps you've listed you'll get significantly more battery life from either of the machines, but still probably not the advertised 7 hours, closer to 5 would be my guess.
 
Tonzay said:
Thank you for your advice! Does the battery life last a reasonable amount of time during the work and processing? I know apple says 7 hours, but in reality is it really true?

----------

I'll mainly be doing mid-graphic intensive apps, I'll be mainly using things like Xcode, aperture, some science apps, safari, just 1 or 2 games to pass the time for some occasions. I'll also be using it for my everyday personal computer.

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Read my replied above! I think that will give an idea of the sort of thing I will be using it for.
Click to expand...


I would personally advise getting a cMBP or a MBA 13' if you didn't require the extra processing power, that way your battery should last 12 hours. You can always pay for the upgrade to 8gb of RAM and go for the 256gb SSD without having to pay any more over the rMBP.
 
Just to add to my earlier post, if you've got the cash to spend, absolutely go for the entry level 15" Retina, you won't look back. You may also find your work evolves into something more demanding, you mentioned Aperture editing, which the rMBP is superb for.

However, if you want to save a little, go for the entry level 13" MBA, with all flash storage and a really light design, it would be very suitable. (I carried a cMBP in my backpack every day for 2 years, believe me, the thing weighs a ton).
 
natd1993 said:
Just to add to my earlier post, if you've got the cash to spend, absolutely go for the entry level 15" Retina, you won't look back. You may also find your work evolves into something more demanding, you mentioned Aperture editing, which the rMBP is superb for.

However, if you want to save a little, go for the entry level 13" MBA, with all flash storage and a really light design, it would be very suitable. (I carried a cMBP in my backpack every day for 2 years, believe me, the thing weighs a ton).
Click to expand...

Hahahaha, I like the way you described your MacBook weighs a ton.

From your experience, shall I wait until September 10th for the new rMBP to come out? Or is it not worth the wait because Its quite important that I need it on my first day!

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Jack352 said:
I would personally advise getting a cMBP or a MBA 13' if you didn't require the extra processing power, that way your battery should last 12 hours. You can always pay for the upgrade to 8gb of RAM and go for the 256gb SSD without having to pay any more over the rMBP.
Click to expand...

Okay, I will consider your idea your idea if the rMBP isn't as what I require for my work! Thanks
 
Tonzay said:
shall I wait until September 10th for the new rMBP to come out? Or is it not worth the wait because Its quite important that I need it on my first day!
Click to expand...

I bought my rMBP just over a month ago, fully knowing a refresh is imminent. However, for me, it wasn't feasible to wait. I had two documentaries to edit, and needed a fast machine to do it on. I also wanted to get it before I went to university, and rather like yourself wanted to have the machine on day one. If you can afford to wait until the 10th, by all means to it.

However, the current line up of rMBP's are by no means slow. More than likely the upgraded versions that will be released will have a focus on better battery life, as opposed to great leaps in processing performance.

Again, the apps you plan on using should allow you to get through a school day without charging, on a current rMBP.

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Also, have you visited an Official Apple Retail Store? Here you may be able to get the best idea for the computer you want.
 
Suggest you consider a 13 inch retina MBP, excellent screen, very light and very powerfull for normal, day to day use.
 
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